No. 4 Huskers Fall to Rice in Season Opener

Houston, Texas - Jon Skaggs struck out 10 in 6 2/3 innings of work, as seventh-ranked Rice spoiled Nebraska's season opener with a 16-2 victory over the fourth-ranked Huskers in front of a crowd of 2,702 at Reckling Park Friday evening.

Skaggs (1-0) allowed just three hits and an unearned run in picking up the win, as the Owls blew open the contest with 11 runs, including grand slams by Hunter Brown and Matt Cunningham in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. The Owls hit three homers in the final two innings, breaking open a game which was 5-3 after seven innings.

The Huskers were held to just six hits, including two each by centerfielder Jeff Liese (Omaha, Neb.) and Josh Hesse (Omaha, Neb.).

In a match-up between two of the top three teams in earned-run average last season, Rice wasted little time, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first of NU starter Jamie Rodrigue (0-1). With one out, A.J. Porfirio singled to left and moved to third on a two-out single by Eric Arnold. Rodrigue then walked Jesse Roman, but the ball bounced away from catcher Jed Morris, allowing Profirio to score from third.

Porfirio went 5 for 6 as the Owls pounded out 18 hits against six Nebraska pitchers.

In the second inning, the Owls knocked Rodrigue out of the game, scoring a pair of runs in taking a 3-0 lead. Phillip Ghutzman led off the inning with a single before Rice strung together a two-out rally. Jose Enrique Cruz walked before Porfirio singled, scoring Ghutzman from second. Hunter Brown gave the Owls a three-run cushion with a double down the line in right, scoring Cruz, ending Rodrigue's outing in less than two innings.

Rodrigue, pressed into action when scheduled starter Shane Komine tweaked his back on Wednesday, lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits in taking the loss.

The Huskers trimmed the Owl lead to 3-1, scoring a run in the bottom of the third inning. Will Bolt (Conroe, Texas) reached on a two-base error. With one out, Hesse's RBI single to left, scoring Bolt from second. The Huskers continued to threaten, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but Matt Hopper's (Morrison, Colo.) sharp grounder was snared by Skaggs, who threw to first for the final out of the inning.

"Skaggs pitched well, but it was not anything we hadn't seen before," Nebraska Coach Dave Van Horn said. "I was disappointed in our play tonight because our pitchers kept falling behind in the counts, and they jammed out hitters all evening."

Despite a solid relief effort from sophomore Steve Hale, Rice increased its lead to 5-1 in the top of the seventh, scoring an unearned run in the fifth before Ghutzman added an RBI single in the seventh. Hale struck out four and allowed a pair of runs (one earned) on six hits in 4.1 innings of work.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Huskers capitalized on a pair of Rice errors for their second tally of the day. With two outs, Hesse lifted a fly ball to center that was dropped by Porfirio for a two-base error. Leise's infield single was misplayed by Brown, allowing Hesse to score to make the score 5-2.

The 14-run deficit was NU's worst defeat in four seasons under Coach Dave Van Horn.

"I guess if you lose, it doesn't matter if it was by one or by 15," Van Horn said. "We're going to find out over the next couple of days on how the early season is going to go. I'm not talking about wins or losses, but just playing better, like we know how."

The Owls tacked on six runs in the eighth, highlight by back-to-back homers from Brown and Matt Fox, and added five more in the ninth, as Matt Cunningham keyed the outburst with Rice's second grand slam of the evening.

The Huskers contunue action in the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational Saturday afternoon when NU takes on Lamar, a 11-9 loser to top-ranked Georgia Tech earlier today, at 4:30 p.m. (CST).